Strike By Night
by Hitokiri.Seraphim
Summary: REVISED and REPOSTED. Kagome and Sesshoumaru are assassins contracted to kill the same person. A job gone awry that nearly costs them their lives. As the hunters become the prey, can they work together to keep themselves alive?
1. First Encounter

Strike by Night  
Chapter 1: First Encounter

This is the revised version of the story I started nearly a decade ago but abandoned due to real life issues and the fact that I didn't know where the plot was going. The story is now fully plotted out and will be finished but required heavy edits in the early chapters both to ensure continuity and because I didn't like where some characters were going. Chapter 1 escaped mostly unscathed but the revisions will be more obvious in subsequent chapters.

Hope the edits are a change for the better. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha but wouldn't mind keeping a few characters.

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Da-da-da-dum! Da-da-da-dum! The cell phone chirped out the opening chords of Beethoven's Fifth before a slender hand fumbled for the location of the disruptive sound, nearly smashing it in the process. Finally locating the offending object, the hand raised the cell to a sleep tousled head that reluctantly emerged from the snug confines of the covers.

"Hello?" she mumbled into the receiver. Someone better have a damn good reason for waking her up.

"I have a job."

That was a good reason. A quick glance at the bedside clock told her it was 3:45 a.m. Resisting the urge to groan at being woken up at this ungodly hour when any living thing with half a mind would be asleep, she sat up in bed and listened intently. "I'm listening."

"Your target is Naraku Shinigami."

Naraku Shinigami…now why does the name seem so familiar, Kagome pondered. Suddenly it clicked. "Isn't Naraku Shinigami a co-owner of Four Gods Industries?" she asked into the receiver. "The Byakko Branch, I believe."

"One and the same. He is currently in Kyoto on business, returning to Tokyo on the seventh. We are not expecting him to return…alive. The pay is $5 million. Half will be wired now and the remaining on completion."

"Understood," confirmed Kagome before terminating the call. The Merchant of Death himself, she mused. The Byakko branch was the military technology sector of Four Gods Industries. Rumors had it that Naraku also had side deals with terrorists and dictators but nothing was ever proven. Kagome hated people like him: a heartless monster masquerading under a civilized veneer. She will not be at all remorseful to send him to his well deserved rest.

Making a mental note to call Miroku later, she snuggled back under the covers.

Name: Kagome Higurashi. Age: 22. Occupation: Assassin. Alias: Avenging Angel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere: at the Fukaimori Mansion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Riiiiiing. Riiiiii-" An elegant hand picked up the receiver, abruptly silencing the second ring. "Fukaimori residence," a deep voice spoke indifferently into the receiver.

"Sesshoumaru?" a hesitant voice in the phone inquired, making sure it had the right brother.

"Speaking," replied Sesshoumaru. He had just come back from an assignment, a leader of some country whom other leaders had wanted dead. The task had been pathetically easy; he even had to kill the man up close and personal just to find some sort of excitement. The man had begged like a worm before he died. Sesshoumaru smiled at the memory, but the smile quickly faded. Leaders just weren't what they used to be anymore, he thought. It's amazing that the world is still standing with the leadership it had.

"I have an assignment for you, think you'd be interested?" the voice asked.

"That depends," Sesshoumaru replied coolly. He'd had enough with easy targets. His blood cried out for the thrill of a challenge and unless this one promised at least some excitement, his bed was a much more enticing alternative than listening to this man drone on about something that even his half-wit brother can take care of. It had been a long night.

"But I believe you will find this one to your interest," the voice assured. "The target is Naraku Shinigami."

"Owner of Byakko branch of Four Gods Industries, interesting." His interest piqued. It was common knowledge that while Naraku only owned one-fourth of Four Gods Industries, one of the most influential companies around, he wielded power over the other three parts with an iron fist. Not only that, but his romantic affairs had turned up in the tabloids countless times. Ruthless and a womanizer, this promised to be at least interesting.

"Same one," confirmed the voice. "The deadline is the seventh, and the pay is $5 million. I hear-"

"Very well, I'll take it," Sesshoumaru cut in and hung up the receiver without waiting for an answer. The target was slightly surprising as assassins were rarely called in to settle business disputes. The financial world usually preferred public ruin and humiliation versus a well placed bullet through the head. It seems business had become much more vicious than he remembered.

After a quick shower, he climbed in bed hoping to get at least a few hours sleep before his idiot of a brother woke up and created enough noise wake half the country.

Name: Sesshoumaru Fukaimori Age: unknown. Occupation: Assassin. Alias: Demon Lord

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunlight streamed through the gaps of the drapes, creeping slowly across the sleeping form of Kagome. She tossed, she turned, and finally, surrendered to the glare. "Alright, alright, I'm up," she grumbled as she untangled herself from the sheets and stumbled in the direction of the bathroom, emerging minutes later much more refreshed. Running a hand through her hair she managed to get it into some order while a glance at the clock on the nightstand told her it was 10:30 a.m. Even Miroku must be up by now, she thought as she dialed his number.

"Finders Keepers Detective Agency, we find whatever you need."

"Did I ever tell you that is the dumbest slogan I have ever heard," Kagome teased.

"Every time," was Miroku's good natured reply. "How can I help you, Kagome?"

"I need everything you can get on Naraku Shinigami by the end of the week, focusing on recent events."

"That's an awful lot of information and a real short deadline."

"Which is why you're the best, Miroku. Just one last time. Please?" Her tone sweet enough to rot teeth.

"Well…." she could feel his sigh over the phone. "Only for you, Kagome."

"THANK YOU!" she gushed. "I'll see you in 3 days."

Changing into a blouse and jeans, she grabbed her bag and climbed into her silver jaguar.

She loved this car, bought with the money from her first successful job. But seeing it each time also bought back painful memories of how she got into the assassination business.

Five years ago she had the ordinary teenage life, just graduated from high school and looking forward to college. If anyone told her then she'd kill people for a living, she would've run as fast as possible from the lunatic. Yet somehow, here she was, all because of one night.

One night, she came home from school to find her entire family slaughtered. Grandpa, Mom, Souta…everyone. She would later learn from her police rumors that some mob boss wanted the land for development but her family had refused to sell. So the boss decided he was done with negotiations.

Unfortunately, the police didn't have enough evidence to convict. The remainder was a little blurry as all she could remember was a blinding rage when she learned that her family's murderers would walk free. When the rage had subsided, she found herself standing over a roomful of bodies with arrows through their hearts. She was horrified at what she had done but could not bring herself to feel sorrow for the deaths around her. They deserved it for what they did to her family.

Realizing someone might come by, she gathered her arrows and slipped away as quietly as she had arrived, if a little dazed. She cried herself to sleep that night, opening the gates to all the pain and grief she had pushed aside for the trial. Her family was gone and nothing would bring them back. Vengeance had calmed her rage but had given her no peace. She would never again hear Grandpa's stories, taste Mom's cooking or tease Souta; she was alone.

The following weeks were the longest of her life. She barely ate, barely slept and moved around the house aimlessly. Sango, Miroku and Shippo frequently checked in on her and brought her food, reminding her that there were still people who loved and cared for her. Kagome suspected they were partly afraid she might do something drastic and she wasn't sure their fears were entirely unfounded.

However, under their care, she slowly found the will to live again.

Even though the house was too big for one person to live in, she refused to move. Giving up the house and shrine would mean losing the last link to her family; it would almost feel like losing her family all over again. Besides, there was no guarantee that the new owners wouldn't turn around and just sell the property to developers. She owed her family that much.

Then the calls started. It seemed there had been witnesses to her act of vengeance, a mistake she never made again. But thankfully those witnesses were not the kind to call the cops. She learned quickly to hide her real identity and unexpectedly discovered her talent for technological manipulation. However, she made it a personal rule of only accepting jobs on dishonest targets, thus earned her the nickname Avenging Angel.

The past five years have been lucrative but Kagome wasn't about to pretend assassination was a long term career prospect. She wanted a normal life with a normal family, a normal husband, and a normal job that did not involve looking for sneaking into dangerous people's homes in the dead of night. With luck, this would be her last assassination as she would be finishing her masters this semester and was already looking into open positions.

Pulling into the campus parking lot, Kagome headed to class.

Days later, Kagome was sprawled on her couch flipping through the files she picked up from Miroku. Naraku Shinigami, Co-President of Four Gods Industries, CEO of Byakko Branch. Age 35 this year. Phone: 587- 923-0102. Cell: 4562356754. Residence, currently in Maple Hotel, at Kyoto, room 813. Note: Shinigami is negotiating a deal with Soul Jewel Enterprises. He has been there for 2 months, but is due to return on the seventh. He is in and out of his hotel room, no specific times. The man is highly intelligent with violent tendencies and will not hesitate to kill.

Don't worry, thought Kagome. She intended to be alive to enjoy her $5 million. Taking out the enclosed picture of Naraku, she studied the picture. Very nice, she thought. She's seen his picture pasted across tabloids and the news many times, but she had to admit, this picture got his good side. Pulling out her handy laptop, she tried to fill in the gaps in Miroku's report. One thing that jumped out at her was that Naraku didn't have any bodyguards. Very few in such positions of power didn't have anyone to protect them. Those that didn't were either very confident of their own abilities or very stupid. This one was most likely the former; she'll have to be extra careful. Booking a seat on the next plane to Kyoto, she set about packing her bags and pulling up blueprints of the Maple Hotel before heading to the airport.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At Fukaimori Mansion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crash! Clank! Splatter! Then the TV roared at an inhuman volume, blasting sound through the entire mansion, where not even the dust in the darkest corners was spared from its effects. Unfortunately, neither was Sesshoumaru. Eyes snapping open, he growled as he got up and stomped downstairs to kill Inu Yasha. Finding him situated in front of the large screen TV with a bowl of ramen in his hands, unmindful of the intensity of noise coming from the speakers, Sesshoumaru backhanded Inu Yasha into the nearest wall.

"Hey, what's the fucking idea!" screamed Inu Yasha from his imprint in the once smooth stone wall. Ignoring him, Sesshoumaru turned the volume down on the TV, which was damaging his sensitive youkai ears. Pushing off the new hole in the wall, Inu Yasha lunged at his brother.

The two fought until their stomachs growled, alerting them that they should've been down here for a different reason. Agreeing to an unspoken truce, Inu Yasha returned to his bowl of ramen, which remained surprisingly unscathed throughout the entire fight, and took the ear plugs out of his ears. Sesshoumaru moved to the kitched to see what was available for breakfast. Yep, it was a normal morning in the Fukaimori household.

After breakfast, Sesshoumaru retired to his study, digging up information on his latest target. Finding results that were similar to Kagome's, he packed his bags and booked the last seat on the next flight to Kyoto.

On the way out, he barked to Inu Yasha he would be out on assignment for the next few days, earning him a "Feh" from Inu Yasha, whose eyes never wavered from the TV, which was showing a concert by pop superstar Kikyo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Airport~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Final boarding call for Flight 2386, departing for Osaka-Itami International Airport. All passengers please report to Gate 15." Kagome sighed as she sank into her window seat. It would be a short flight, she thought gazing out the window. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a presence beside her. Turning her head, she was greeted with the sight of a muscular chest, whose definitions were visible even through the immaculate shirt he wore. Looking down, she saw a pair of toned legs clad in a pair of tailored slacks. Damn, Kagome thought appreciatively.

Seconds later, a face emerged to match the body. Intense golden eyes looked out from chiseled yet feminine features framed by long silver hair, accentuating his feminine appeal. She could almost mistake him for a woman if it weren't for the physique and those piercing sunlit eyes that met hers with the coldest air and an arrogance that was undoubtedly male. So entranced was Kagome that she almost missed the lifting of one elegant eyebrow in response to her staring.

Realizing her rudeness, she immediately turned away and stared pointedly out the window, not quite able to keep the pink from her cheeks as he settled himself in the seat beside her. That was a stupid thing to do Kagome, very very stupid, she chided herself.

Sesshoumaru smirked at the embarrassment of the girl beside him, who was just moments ago giving him a once over. She was not a great beauty, black hair and large brown eyes, but there was a mystery about her that he found most intriguing. "Did you see anything you like?" he whispered against her ear.

Kagome nearly jumped when she felt Sesshoumaru's breath on her ear. It took a few moments for his words to work through her startled brain but once it did, annoyance pushed away any tender thoughts she might have had for the man.  
"And just what is that suppose to mean?" she demanded, turning to face him.

"Simply the fact that you could not tear your eyes away from me moments ago," Sesshoumaru pointed out, his face inches from a now very pissed Kagome, a smug smile across his lips.

"You must be mistaken," Kagome shot back, her voice dripping disdain. "I've seen better." This time, she didn't back down from his gaze. "I don't know which bimbo took pity on you and let you think you were Casanova but you've obviously never dealt with a woman who wasn't plastic."

The effect was satisfying. Though his smug smile didn't fade, she saw Sesshoumaru's eyes narrow the tiniest bit at her words. This time, it was Kagome's turn to imperiously raise an eyebrow, daring him to prove her wrong. Their staredown was interrupted only when the flight attendant came over to ready them for takeoff.

A tense silence settled between the two as each pretended to ignore the other. When refreshments came, Kagome requested a ginger ale and Sesshoumaru requested a seltzer. Just as Sesshoumaru was passing along Kagome's drink, the plane hit a patch of turbulence, causing Sesshoumaru spill the contents of the cup…right onto Kagome's shirt. She would have been far more understanding had Sesshoumaru's gaze not lingered longer than necessary at the front of Kagome's now very transparent blouse. Covering herself for some attempts at modesty, Kagome headed for the bathroom. Grabbing her carry-on bag, she tried to maneuver between the seats to reach the aisle. As she crossed Sesshoumaru's seat, she 'accidentally' bumped his half full drink off the table and right into his lap. Only youkai reflexes allowed him to stand up in time to avoid some rather embarrassing water stains, giving Kagome enough room to cross. "Why thank you," she purred, moving into the aisle. She didn't miss the glare that he shot her way and he didn't miss her smirk as she walked away.

Kagome cleaned her blouse the best she could and changed into a new shirt from her bag. Settling back into her seat, the pair continued to pointedly ignore each other.

Once the plane landed in Osaka, Kagome had plenty of time to muse on her infuriating seatmate during the rail ride to Kyoto. Despite her earlier words, she had to admit the man was drool worthy. Unfortunately, his superior attitude grated her every nerve. She couldn't stand guys who acted as if they were God's gift to women and that all women should throw themselves at his feet. Considering she had been sorely tempted all flight to strangle him with his own smugness, the airline should commend her for her restraint. It really was too bad he was such a jerk, she sighed, because she wouldn't mind nibbling on that piece of that.

Climbing into his cab, Sesshoumaru could not tear his thoughts away from the girl from the plane. She had shown a surprising amount of spirit, or a lack of self preservation. Not many would dare to do half of what she did to him. A dark smile played at his lips at the memory. I do hope we will have the chance to meet again, little one.

~

-hitokiri*seraphim


	2. Naraku's Dead!

Strike By Night  
Chapter 2: Naraku's Dead?

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha but wouldn't mind keeping a few characters.

Grabbing a cab to the luxurious skyscraper that is the Maple Hotel, Kagome stepped out in front of the grand entrance. Taking a deep breath, she strode into the decorated lobby.

Heading for the concierge while the bellhop carried in her bags, she went to check in. "Your name please?" the concierge asked without even bothering to look at her. Obviously he considered himself too important to seriously deal with her.

"Yumiko Hayami. I have a reservation."

"I see…here we are. These are your keys, Ms. Hayami. I hope you enjoy your stay." Despite the welcoming words, his tone was indifferent, almost robotic, though Kagome was impressed with his ability to hand her everything without once tearing his gaze from the computer screen. She tamped down the urge to stick her tongue out at the man as that would only draw unnecessary attention to her cover.

Heading towards the elevators, she had the nagging feeling of being watched. Peering through the corners of her eyes, she could not find anyone watching her but the feeling persisted. When the elevator came, she nearly ran into the safely of the metal box.

Stepping off on her floor, she headed for room 713. There was a reason she wanted this room and had, in fact, hacked the hotel system to ensure that the room was assigned to her: It was right under Naraku's room. People would always keep track of their neighbors on both sides, but rarely the one downstairs. Lifting her head to admire the high ceiling, she smiled at the thought of how close she was to the target.

Taking in the comfortable elegance of the room, she pulled out her laptop and got to work. Today was the first of the month. She had a week to figure out how to close that final distance to Naraku.

Sesshoumaru rounded the corner and approached the famous Maple Hotel on foot. He had the cab drop him off a few blocks past, preferring to check out the target site from the comfort of his own pace. Nonchalantly strolling around the building, he silently analyzed every available angle to enter, from windows and walls to the nearby buildings. His youkai eyes missed nothing.

As he passed the front doors, something caught his eyes. A girl stood in front of the elevator bays. He frowned as he recognized the girl as the same one from the plane. As fond as he was of seeing her again, this was no place for her to be, not with what's going to happen. The girl seemed to feel the intensity of his frown and her body noticeably tensed. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sesshoumaru noticed that he wasn't the only one watching the girl. Leaning casually against a support column just inside the doorway was a man, whose attention, despite hidden behind a newspaper, never left the girl's body. However, he lost contact with both of them when a valet asked him to move so the baggage cart could move through. When he looked up next, the girl was gone, and so was the man. Still frowning, he continued on his original course to a neighboring building whose roof had a perfect view of Naraku's room.

Reaching the roof, Sesshoumaru quickly located Naraku's balcony. Careful to keep out of sight, he studied the view. Unfortunately, the deep tinted windows of the screen door prevented any sight of the room within, even with his enchanced youkai vision. The glass of the windows, as he had researched earlier was made of a special bulletproof mixture and at least a foot thick. Nothing short of a bazooka was getting through it. This would have to be up close and personal, Sesshoumaru thought, not a bit disappointed.

Night found Kagome on her bed chomping on crackers and pouring over the schematics of the state-of-the-art alarm system in Naraku's suite, courtesy of Miroku. He was a genius at information gathering, it's hard to believe he used to be a priest before he found, as he called it, his "true calling". Kagome suspected that the change of career was more likely caused by his roving hands than by any change of beliefs.

Of all her friends, Miroku is probably the only person who has guessed what she actually does for a living. Most people assumed she was a full time student with a tendency to visit various specialists for her "illnesses". In fact, Kagome had been out "sick" so often in the past 5 years that even she must have broken records for most number of contracted illnesses in a lifetime.

She wouldn't have put it past Miroku to do a background search on her, if only for her measurement, and started putting two and two together. There would be times when he'd look at her oddly, but he'd never mentioned anything and always provided her with the information she asked for, making Kagome wonder just how much he actually knew.

Turning back to the subject at hand, Kagome raked her eyes over the perfect as always, schematic of the alarm system. The alarm system was the best private system she'd ever seen, hair trigger silent alarm fused with a current of electricity strong enough to knock an elephant out around every window, door, even the ventilation system. But it had one fatal error: it only stops "unauthorized" entry into the room. Since the hotel was considerate enough to not want to electrocute their employees, all she would need was an employee passcard, possibly from housekeeping.

However, there was still the issue of the security cameras. She could loop the image on the hotel system easily but Naraku's room had a separate camera at the door which ran on its own internal closed system. It would take more time than she had to crack this system, which meant she would have to find some way to fool the cameras. Flopping back onto the bed, she let out a muted cry of frustration. She hated disguises; they always landed her in the worst situations.

Too tired to deal with this tonight, Kagome washed up and climbed in bed, idly wondering just where the hell Naraku was; she hadn't heard movement from upstairs all day.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps. Speak of the devil, thought Kagome as she heard not only one, but two sets of footsteps, one distinctly male and one distinctly female, head for the bedroom, which unfortunately, happened to be right above her bedroom. As the sound of footsteps faded away, they were replaced by a steady banging sound. Suddenly, the realization of what those banging sounds meant dawned on Kagome. Blushing scarlet, she dived under the covers, hoping to drown out the sound.

Sesshoumaru checked into a nearby hotel for the night. He never stayed more than one night in any hotel, preferring not the deal with the hotel's housekeeping crew. His plan was set in his head. Now, all he needed was a time. Three more days.

**The Sixth:**

"This is officially the second worst assignment I have ever accepted," hissed Kagome as she attempted to navigate the narrow ventilation shaft. If she wasn't still trying to get the smell of swamp out of her jacket, this would take number one. She was cold, she was dusty and she was pretty sure her skirt was riding up in embarrassing ways. The extra maids' outfit she had liberated from the housekeeping department as her disguise for the security cameras had turned out to be a smaller size than expected. But there had been no time to find another so she was now stuck wearing the too small garment and hoping no one would be around to notice.

Dropping down just around the corner from the cameras on the 8th floor, Kagome dusted and straightened her outfit and headed for Naraku's room, holding the extra towels she was pretending to deliver in front of her like a shield. Thankfully, there was no one in the hallway.

Careful to keep her face averted from the cameras, she knocked and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Inching the door further, she slipped inside, closing it quietly behind her. Seeing nothing but darkness inside, she dropped the towels and pulled out her gun while her eyes adjusted. Slowly, she crept towards Naraku's bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Up on the roof again, Sesshoumaru stood facing Naraku's balcony, cloaked in black with a hood to cover his silvery mane. Using his youkai abilities, Sesshoumaru jumped off the roof and landed gently upon the balcony despite the fact nearly fifty feet separated the two buildings. Putting an ear just millimeters from the screen door, Sesshoumaru listened, but heard nothing more than the near invisible hum of electric currents running through the wiring around the door. Drawing out a small circular device, Sesshoumaru set it to fifteen seconds and placed it on the wall beside the screen door. When he felt the electric currents disappear from the screen door and saw the device start to count down, he dripped the poison from his claws onto the latch, dissolving it. Then he slid back the screen door and slipped inside.

The closer Kagome got to Naraku's bedroom, the tenser she became. Something was very wrong. Since stepping in the door, she had seen no movement and heard no sound. She also could not sense any life force in the apartment. As Naraku's bed came into view, she was surprised to find it was occupied. Instantly, she noticed that Naraku was sleeping in a very unnatural position. His hands were on his face as if holding it and something dark was flowing down his chest. Moving closer, the sight Kagome saw almost made her stomach rebel. Naraku's throat was slashed, a very deep cut by the looks of it, from which blood had gushed and covered his entire chest. His hands were holding the remains of his face, of which the acid was still eating away at it. The once handsome face of Naraku Shinigami had now been disfigured beyond recognition. It has to be him, thought Kagome; there could be no other identity to the body before her

Kagome was snapped out of her shock when she felt the cold muzzle of a gun against her temple. Looking out the corner of her eyes, Kagome met the freezing gaze of a pair of very familiar golden eyes.

~  
A/N: it's a short chapter but I just had to keep this cliffhanger ending.

-hitokiri*seraphim


	3. The Hunt Begins

Strike By Night  
Chapter 3: The Hunt Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha but wouldn't mind keeping a few characters.

"Drop the gun," the threat in his voice sent chills down her spine. After a moment's hesitation, Kagome let her gun drop with a dull thump onto the thickly carpeted floor, eyes never once straying from his intense gaze.

When his gaze flickered to the remains of the figure lying upon the bed, she acted. Bringing up her legs for a vicious double kick, she managed to knock the gun out of his hand. Only his superhuman reflexes managed to save him from the force of Kagome's second kick contacting hard with his jaw. As she landed, her back hit the wall with enough force to make her teeth rattle.

Struggling to pull air back into her lungs, she felt a body overlap hers, pinning her to the wall. "So we meet again, little one," Sesshoumaru purred against her neck. "Tell me, do all maids in this hotel moonlight as assassins or merely the ones in the fuck me skirts." A shiver raced down her spine as he ran a hand over her exposed thighs.

"I'm not a maid, "She cringed at the breathiness of her voice.

"A shame. I was almost tempted to check into the hotel."

Burying his face in her hair, he took in her scent. The scent of lily that he had recognized immediately upon entering the room was nearly intoxicating at this close range. It pulled at the Inu inside him and he barely fought down the urge to wrap himself around her.

Her gasp as his tongue flicked along her collarbones was delightful and a slow smile curled his lips when that gasp turned into a low moan as he sucked at a pulse point. She was soft and warm and fit against him perfectly.

Pulling back, he took in her flushed face and ragged breathing. He would love to see what other sounds she would make but this was hardly the time or place.

It was several heartbeats later before Kagome got herself under control. Her fingers were fisted in the material at the front of his shirt. She couldn't remember doing that and wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to shove him away or pull him closer and see what else he could do with that wicked mouth.

A good shove pushed him off of her as her brain caught up to the realization that she had just let a virtual stranger kiss her senseless in an unknown hotel room right next to a corpse! Allowing those nimble hands to continue tracing scattered designs along her body was a worse than bad idea. It didn't help that he looked even better in moonlight than he had on the plane. In the low lighting, his polished amber eyes were nearly luminescent and they were focused on her with an intensity that made her mouth run dry.

"Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?" her frustrated libido fueling the anger at having been upstaged on the kill.

"I would have thought that was obvious"

'Looks like you're too late."

"Yes, it appears I'm merely here to congratulate you on a successful job."

"Yeah, about that. I didn't kill him." She admitted, looking away with embarrassment. "He was already dead when I got here."

When there was no answer, she dared another glance his way and found him studying the corpse.

"So, who are you again?" realizing that he had never answered her original question.

No answer.

"Look, if we're going to keep running into each other like this, we should at least know who each of us is dealing with." Still no answer. "My name's Kagome, alright?"

"Sesshoumaru"

Was that so hard? Kagome's mind raced, trying to place the white haired, demonic (if the markings were anything to go by) assassin in front of her. "Wait a minute, aren't you the Demon Lord, the top assassin in Japan?" She was impressed. The man was famous, well, the alias was.

"I didn't know you thought so highly of me…Angel." The slow, seductive smile that accompanied those words made her heart skip a beat.

"How'd you know?"

"There are very few female assassins qualified for a job of this caliber, even fewer who are currently in the country." Kagome was stunned; was that an actual complement? "However, I have to admit, I had expected the Avenging Angel to be more… stunning." And he just had to keep talking.

Kagome grit her teeth. "Funny, you're exactly the arrogant ass I imagined the Demon Lord to be," The darkness hid the faintest trace of a smile that tugged at Sesshoumaru's lips.

"Well, either multiple people had the same epiphany or someone didn't trust your expertise." A low growl vibrated from Sesshoumaru. "But I'm getting out of here before someone comes looking."

As she turned to reach for her gun, there was the faintest click. Suddenly, she was flying through the air so fast that everything was a blur. When the world suddenly stilled on the rooftop of the neighboring building, she heard the deafening blast of an explosion. Turning towards the hotel, she saw a smoking hole where Naraku's room used to be.

Sesshoumaru set her down only to catch her again when her knees buckled under the realization of how close she had been to becoming a bloody smear on the walls.

He frowned as he studied the remains of the hotel room. The blast was precise, enough to scorch the walls but not enough to actually damage the adjacent rooms. The acid did a good job of masking the scent of C4, even from his senses. The setup was perfect, too perfect.

"It was a trap."

"For you? Or for Naraku?"

"For both of us."

"What? Why? Why would anyone want to kill both of us? I've never even met you before. And how could anyone know we would both be there at the same time?"

"Someone must be watching the place. Maybe they figured one was better than none."

"Shit." Looking around, Kagome could see nothing unusual but she did note the flashing lights of incoming police vehicles.

Sesshoumaru felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down into Kagome's wide blue eyes. "Um, could you drop me off at the balcony under Naraku's? I need to get back to my room before hotel security comes." She hated to ask for help, but there was no way she could cross that chasm by herself and she didn't want to explain how she managed to get out of her seventh floor room without using a door.

Sesshoumaru flew off as soon as Kagome's feet touched the stone floor of the balcony but not before leaving her with a soul scorching kiss. As she stumbled back into the room, she peeled off the maid outfit and set about shredding the dress into itty-bitty pieces. At least she wouldn't have to pretend to be a dazed and confused guest when a knock sounded on her door.

Stepping into the lobby with her bags, Kagome noted the long line to the front desk. It seemed news traveled fast. Naraku Shinigami's death was on everyone's lips but no one seemed particularly mournful.

"Did you see how he died-"  
" Ghastly, nearly beheaded."  
"Any idea who did it-"  
"Who knows, Must've been someone skilled though-"  
"There's a murderer here."  
"Probably only after him."  
"Well I'm getting out soon as possible."  
"-it's not safe, I say."

Finally reaching the front desk, the haggard concierge threw her a plaintive look, as if pleading for her to stay, but after glancing at the people waiting behind her he sighed and took her keycard. Hailing a cab, Kagome headed for the airport. She could not wait to be home again. Worst assignment ever.

Glancing at the empty seat beside her, Kagome couldn't help but remember her last flight. How many people can say they met the famous Demon Lord face to face and lived to tell the tale? The man was obviously used to getting everything he wanted; she'll have to be extra careful to avoid a repeat of the stupidity in the hotel room. She didn't need to get involved with a man like him, who probably went through women like tissues, even if it promised to be a mind blowing trip.

Walking out the exit terminal of the airport, Kagome saw Sango and Miroku, who had come to pick her up. "Hey Kagome, how are you doing? Did the treatments work?"

"It went well. The, uh, Ricketts are almost completely gone."

"I thought they were treating you for Shingles."

"Uh, they got those too." She really needed to start writing down her excuses next time. "The whole trip was rather tiring. I really just wanna get home and go straight to bed." She yawned for added effect.

"Then we shall get you home as fast as possible," interjected a grinning Miroku, holding out his arms. Throwing a look at Sango, who only shrugged, Kagome cautiously went forward. He lasted the better than expected 5 seconds before his hands started to slide lower. Sango beat her to stopping Miroku's downward migration. As he stumbled backwards, Kagome's confusion over why Sango had not knocked him out as usual was answered when she dragged him towards her luggage.

Sesshoumaru was in a bad mood by the time his plane touched down. Every time he had tried to focus on why someone would be stupid enough to try to trap him, his thoughts would turn to Kagome. Her scent still lingered in his mind as did the feel of her skin and it was extremely distracting.

Unfortunately, all this fantasizing left very little time for actually figuring out the identity of their assailant. Throwing open the door, Sesshoumaru looked for Inu Yasha to vent his anger upon, but he was nowhere to be found. Growling in frustration, Sesshoumaru headed for his study. Whoever stupid enough to attempt to kill him had just earned themselves a one way ticket to a slow, painful hell.

It was already dark when Kagome awoke from her nap. She wasn't quite sure when she had fallen asleep but was quite thankful that her subconscious has the sense to find the bed. "Damn jet lag." Looking around her room, she was hit with a sudden wave of sadness. It was still hard to believe sometimes that her family was gone. Five years ago, she would be able to hear Souta or Grandpa snoring in the other rooms. She had always gone to sleep safe in the knowledge that her family was nearby. But now there was nothing, just a silence that was almost suffocating in its loneliness.

Somewhere in that loneliness was the sound of a screen door closing. Snapping to attention, Kagome grabbed the gun under her pillow and quietly rolled out of bed. Please be a mouse, she prayed.

Crouching down, she moved towards the door and quietly slipped into the hallway. Putting her ear to a wall, she could hear a rustling before the screen door opened and closed again. Not a mouse.

When the door to her room opened, she fired one shot into the general direction, hoping to scare off the intruder. She was not expecting the returning barrage of bullets. Okay, not a thief then, she thought, diving for cover. As she fired off a few more shots, she heard a grunt of pain from the opposing direction.

Suddenly, she smelled smoke. Poking her head out, she saw smoke trailing down one of the hallways. The intruder forgotten, she dashed towards the smoke. Rounding the corner, she was caught sight of bright orange flames licking up the living room wall. Running for the nearest phone, she called the police. Kagome tried her best to stop the fire from spreading but finally had to go outside when the smoke became too much.

As she stumbled outside, fire rescue pulled up. She had never been so thankful to see the red trucks in her life. The fire was put out in a matter of minutes thanks to Kagome's early warning and the damage had not spread to the bedrooms. But the front rooms were charred pretty badly. Police cited cause of fire as an electrical short that caught the curtains but Kagome knew better. She was willing to bet everything she owned that the intruder had set the fire. Arson. Maybe Sesshoumaru wasn't so wrong after all that someone was out to kill them.

However, the biggest issue right now was that she had nowhere to stay. Insurance would take care of the fire damage but the house would be inhabitable due to the smoke for quite a few days. Friends were out of the question since if there really was someone trying to kill her, she didn't want to risk Sango or Miroku getting caught in the cross fire. She would be unable to do any research at a hotel, which left her with one option.

Retrieving her wallet she dialed the one number she had managed to track down before falling asleep.

"Hello"

"Hi, um, is Sesshoumaru there?"

"Who is this?"

"I'm Kagome, from the hotel?" Geesh, could I sound more like a hooker?

Sesshoumaru could not have been more surprised at this call. As she continued to explain the attack, the smoke and her agreement that there might be someone after them after all, Sesshoumaru saw an elegantly simple solution to his inability to stop thinking about her. By having her within reach, he would be able to finish what they started in Tokyo. Maybe if he got her out of his system, he could refocus on finding out who wanted them dead.

Kagome was stunned how easily he agreed. She had been anticipating much more of a fight. Maybe her luck was turning.

**Please comment**


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